Role
Industry
Years
Lead Design & Developer
Strategy, User Testing, UX Design, Front-End Development
2012 - 2015
Product Pages
Challenge
Alienware product pages were not delivering the results Alienware had expected. As the lead designer and developer of Alienware.com, we needed to improve the product pages to cater to the target hardcore gamer they sought to purchase.
Persona / Field Research
As a gamer myself, I had a general understanding of the draw to late nights and PVP with friends, but being a console gamer, I never understood the need to buy a decked out PC. I realized I would need to get into the mindset of a gamer who regarded me as an inferior. Seeking out a few hardcore gamers who had built their own PC, I was able to dissect the reasoning to have a souped-up machine. It wasn't just the cool chassis with a clear view into the coolants and hardware to boast in front of your friends, it ultimately came down to the exact detailed specs you put into your machine that made you better than the next guy so you can dominate at PVP. They admitted that although Alienware was cool inside and out, the pricing was not worth it. When the exact specs were mentioned that were offered in the machines, they quickly realized why someone who did not have the knowledge or time to build their machine would buy one. They just didn't know what Alienware offered.
Competitor Research
After assessing the competitors we were able to find, and for a lean experience for one week of development, we decided allowing the customer to view availability at the product-level on the product pages and selecting delivery method in cart was the best course of action for the current timeframe.
Design
Knowing what was inside the machine was the most important factor for PC gamers seeking to purchase an expensive machine, and it was clear the research participants were unaware of Alienware's high-impact components, we knew we needed to bring the specs to the forefront. We exposed the detailed summaries at the top and placed a side-by-side comparison of the systems next to each other. We went into further detail with every item that could be ordered in the system. We also knew the cost of an Alienware was a concern so strategic placement of financing was key below the initial specs to convince gamers they could purchase these supreme systems.
Never stop improving
During the research process, we discovered that Alienware's desire to target hardcore gamers was a lofty challenge to convert these customers. They often purchased their own hardware and built their own machines to get an advantage on the next player, and continue to upgrade as new drives and processors were released. Alienware's price point and stagnant ability for upgrading made these machines non-desirable to the hardcore gamer audience. This exercise, and one of the first times Alienware explored user research, allowed us to discover our real target audience of casual gamers who dreamed to be hardcore and were willing to spend the money to obtain it. This shifted not only the goal and tone of targeting this as our new customer for this project, but for Alienware going forward.
Responsive Design
Challenge
Prior to my ownership of Alienware.com, the site was clunky, fixed width and mobile could only be viewed in a desktop mode where the customer had to zoom in on the individual sections of the page. The site was stuck back in 2001. I knew this had to change.
Design
Bringing Alienware into the present day with both branding and strong presence was the first course of action. Alienware brand is powerful and likes to make a statement and the previous design was two-dimensional. Another thing to consider was the ability to take the one design and make sure it was scaleable to both desktop and mobile. After a few iterations, we were ready to transition our site into 2012.
Coding
Flexing my skills of HTML and CSS, I truly gained the title of Alienware Queen when I not only designed, but coded our full site to be responsive. Now mobile users could view the mobile version where they didn't have to pinch zoom to see specs and the content was tappable without playing a game of whack-a-mole.
Campaigns
Challenge
While working at Dell on Alienware, I was tasked to brainstorm, design, and execute multiple campaigns for product launches, year events such as back to school, and sales. These campaigns included concepting original ideas, photoshoots, designing landing pages, emails, and banner ads.